


Hanging in There

by bracus09



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Epic Bromance, Gen, Injury, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:43:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22343692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bracus09/pseuds/bracus09
Summary: Mountains of debris fell and buried them; their contact, however, remained unbroken.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 98





	Hanging in There

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you are stuck on one of your fics and need a break from it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

They’d reached for each other just as the second explosion hit the building, they were in. By the time the third explosion rocked them, their hands were clenched around on another’s wrists. Mountains of debris fell and buried them; their contact, however, remained unbroken.

***

Sitting around the briefing table, no one on Bravo felt comfortable with this mission. They were looking at “Weston’s Plastics Company Warehouse”, which was a front for the Ukrainian mob and their weapons smuggling ring. They mainly sold rifles, AK-47s, etc. but there was incomplete intel on if there were any weapons of the explosive variety. When Blackburn was through with the briefing, Jason and Ray looked at one another, but neither one had to say a word. Something was going down that night; they’d just hoped it wasn’t going to be any one on the team.

The Warehouse was a disaster waiting to happen. The building was in severe disrepair, there was incorrectly stored chemicals they could see on ISR and add in the possibilities of explosive weapons; it was a wonder the building hadn’t exploded by their stupidity yet, was anyone’s guess.

Of course, on breaching, a gun fight erupted, and Bravo started taking down tangos as they cleared the building. Leave it to the Ukrainian idiots, nothing exploded, but one of them had knocked into a shelving unit full of chemicals, that tipped over onto other shelving unit, and a domino effect occurred. The split chemicals mixed, and a fire started.

The fire started towards the weapons stash, and Bravo knew this wouldn’t end well. When the second, third and then finally fourth explosion hit, there was no doubt as the whether that building was going down. It was just a question as to how long it would take, and which one of them it was going to take with it.

“Have you raised either Sonny or Clay yet,” asked Ray, yelling above the noise of the fire and all the activity surrounding it. In the distance, they could hear fire trucks racing to the scene.

“No. I’d sent them the all clear signal just before the first explosion, but they haven’t responded over comms,” Jason called out just as loudly but with an ample amount of frustration added to the mix. “Now we’re going to have to wait till the firefighters get this place stabilized before we can send anyone in to look for them.”

Ray nodded with understanding; he knew it was killing Jason Hayes to have to wait before sending any of Bravo as search and rescue for his missing brothers. But both men were aware that Jason as Bravo 1 couldn’t make snap decisions based only upon close ties with his brothers. Other lives were also in his hands, and he’d have to show some restraint in order to protect them all. Patience had never been one of Jason’s greatest virtues, but he’d gotten more opportunities practicing it than he ever wanted. Especially after drafting Clay Spenser to Bravo team.

***

‘Clay? Clay, can you hear me?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You okay?’

‘Don’t know. Can’t seem to move too much. You?’

‘Same boat as you, Tinkerbell. Seem to be stuck. Can’t move anything. Shit.’

‘You in pain, Sonny?’

‘Nah.’

‘You’re lying through your teeth, aren’t ya, Sonny?’

‘Yeah. You too Blondie?’

‘Yeah.’

***

“How the hell much longer do we have to wait?” Trent was anxious to get into the building to go after his brothers.

“There’s too much chance of the place going up again. The fire trucks have just arrived, so it shouldn’t be that much longer before the building is stabilized and we can find them.” Jason said, standing and staring at the mess that his op has turned into.

“But, Boss…” Brock jumped in.

“I know, guys. I know. They’re my brothers, too.” Jason looked wistfully towards the building.

Both Trent and Brock looked over that the man they’d grown to respect so much over the years working with him. “Sorry, Boss. I know you’re hurting, too.” Trent said.

Shortly thereafter, the fire captains from the fire trucks, as well as a battalion chief, joined Jason to plan their next strategies in beating down the flames and minimizing the chances for yet another explosion, while still attempting to extricate their trapped brothers. All Bravo could do was stand and watch as they observed the firefighters try to get the blaze under control.

***

‘Hey, Blondezilla?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How ya doing?’

‘Probably about as well as you, Texan.’

‘That shitty, huh?’

‘Oh, damn! Don’t make me laugh, Sonny. Hurts to laugh…’

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay. I’ll live. I think.’

‘Clay, stop that.’

‘Stop what?’

‘Negative thinking.’

‘Sorry, I know that is your department. Forget about me and my grousing, okay? How are you doing? For real?’

‘To be honest, I’m not sure. Still can’t move. You?’

‘No. Um, Sonny? I’m getting a little nervous ‘bout that, ya know?’

‘Yeah, but it’s probably just whatever the hell fell on us, that’s all.’

‘Ya think?’

‘Yeah. I hope.’

‘Hey, now. You stop that.’

‘Stop what?’

‘Negative thinking.’

‘Right. Okay. You tired?’

“Nah. Well, maybe a little. Why, you?’

‘Yeah, a little. I think I’m gonna get some shut eye for a little while, ‘kay?’

‘Sure. I’ll wake ya in a little while, Sonny.

‘Thanks, Little Buddy.’

***

“Bravo 1 calling Bravo 3, how do you read?” Jason’s voice was getting horse from both the smoke of the burning building and his continuous attempts to raise his missing teammates on the comms. “Bravo 1 calling Bravo 6, I need a sit-rep.”

“Maybe the fire is causing interference? Or maybe their comms broke in the explosion,” offered Ray as possible explanations for the silence.

“They could have been severely injured by all the shit from those damn explosions that they can’t respond,” replied Trent desolately. “Or maybe they’re…” Trent wasn’t sure how he did it, but he managed to stop his mouth from running away with itself before he said something he’d have really regretted.

The look on Jason, Ray and Brock’s faces told him immediately to not even think of that possibility, much less say it.

“They’re going to come out of this.” Jason repeated with even more determination.

Just then, one of the fire captains came racing over to the group. “What’s the word?” Jason asked.

“We have finally stabilized the building; you can go in and get your men.” Replied the man before racing back towards his position.

“Those are helluva good words.” Jason somehow appeared taller suddenly. He turned toward the rest of the team. “We just got the word. Let’s go find them.”

At that moment, the men of Bravo team felt more optimism that they’d felt in the last couple hours, all together. Now, if they could only find proof of that optimism.

***

‘Okay, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up.’

‘What? Oh. Yeah…’

‘Sonny, I’m serious. Wake. Up. Now.’

‘I’m up, I’m up…’

‘Sonny…’

‘I’m awake. Really, Peter Pan.’

‘Feel any better?’

‘I’m not sure. I’m still a little woozy from sleep, ya know?’

‘Yeah. I guess.’

‘You tired? You want to close your eyes a bit and I’ll take the watch now?’

‘Well, if ya don’t mind too much.’

‘Nah. Sleep. I think I do feel better. You will, too.’

‘Okay, thanks.’

‘Don’t mention it, Bam-Bam. You rest.’

***

Brock held the high-powered flashlight as Trent, Ray and Jason followed closely behind.

“Where the hell do we start?” asked Brock, as he looked around, dumbstruck by the devastation all around him.

“Be damned if I know,” replied Trent. “Boss, did they give any indication as to where they were before you lost contact?

“Yeah, toward the rea of the warehouse. They were heading toward an office to see if there were any more tangos.” Jason shook his head. There was too much area to cover. “let’s spread out but keep your comms open.”

The men agreed with nods of their heads and began to spread out. It was like an obstacle course that proved to be more dangerous than it first appeared. The depth of the debris above the ground floor was beyond knee deep. Each step lent itself to the possibility of, at the very least a loss of balance or a sprained ankle.

Debris continued to fall from the rafters above and litter the area. It seemed almost hopeless as the men from Bravo team called out to their brothers.

“Sonny! Sonny, if you hear me, answer!”

“Clay, where are ya, buddy? C’mon, guys, ya gotta answer us so we know where you are!”

“Bravo 3? Bravo 6?” Let us know what your current position is!”

They continued their search, sifting occasionally through the mountains of debris that was scattered all over the floor. Brock cried out, “Oh no!”

“You find ‘em? Brock, did you find them? Are they okay?” Trent began rushing over to Brock, the anxiety plastered all over his face.

“No, no, Trent. Damn it, I slipped.” Replied Brock.

“You okay?” Trent asked.

“Yeah. Just caught me by surprise is all. I’m okay.” Brock assured his team medic.

Though he was relieved his brother wasn’t injured, Trent’s anxiety didn’t abate as he stood next to Brock wondering aloud where the hell their brothers could be.

“We’re never gonna find them; not if they don’t let us know where they are. Damn, how the hell could we lose them?” Anger was starting to outweigh Trent’s frustration.

“Hey, they were doing a sweep for more tangoes. They were doing their job, Trent, just like we were all doing our job. They were just further into the rear of the building when the first of the explosions occurred, that’s why we lost track of them. But we’ll find them.” Brock tried hard to believe his own words.

“You okay to resume searching?” asked Trent.

“Try to stop me.” Came the confident response back.

***

‘Sonny! Sonny!’

‘Yeah? Something wrong?’

‘I dunno. How long have we been down here? How long?’

‘Don’t know. Could be an hour or so. Could be more or could be less. I don’t know.’

‘Sonny? I think something may be wrong.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t know; I don’t think I’m breathing right. Can you hear me breathing? It hurts when I breathe.’

‘Try to relax a little. Sniper breathing. You may be hyperventilating.’

‘No… I don’t think so. I can’t feel anything but my chest, and damn, Sonny. It hurts. A lot.’

‘I wish I could help you, Poster Boy, but I’m still pretty much tied up in whatever shit has buried us.’

‘We are, aren’t we?’

‘We are what?’

‘Sonny, we’re buried alive in here…

‘Now Pretty Boy, don’t you go into panic mode on me!’

‘Sonny, it really hurts to breathe now. It feels like my chest is being crushed. Shit, Sonny. I’m…’

‘What? Talk to me, Clay.’

‘I’m scared, Sonny. Something’s wrong. It hurts too much now. It didn’t hurt like this before. Damn, Sonny. I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry.’  
‘Hang on, Clay. They’re gonna find us, you’ll see.’

‘Oh, it hurts, Sonny. It hurts…’

‘We’re gonna get help. You’ll see. They’ll help us soon. Clay? Clay, answer me. Please. They’re gonna send help. Hang on, Clay.’

‘They’re gonna send…’

“…help.”

***

“Shh!” ordered Jason. He waited a few moments before he asked, “Did you hear something?”

“No, Boss, sorry.” Trent craned his neck as if that would enable him to hear the sounds around him more easily.

“…help.”

“I heard that!” cried out Ray excitedly. “But where? Everything seems to echo in this damn place!”

“Clay! Sonny! Where are you?” called out Jason.

“…help …help.”

“Try to keep talking; we’re gonna try to zero in on your voice, but it’s not easy. Please, keep talking!” urged Jason.

“Can you tell which one it is?” asked Brock.

“No. Too breathy, too weak.” Trent tried to shed the anxious expression that all too well matched his words. “But at least,” in a burst of forced optimism, “It’s become like an echo chamber in here and we can pick up on the sounds. C’mon, let’s find them.

Jason got on his comms and requested HAVOC to have more assistance come in. There was just no way for them to cover the area in a timely manner without additional men. HAVOC told him reinforcements were on the way.

Soon, about a dozen Ukrainian firefighters were scouring the area, though Bravo team worked with a determination beyond the others. Everyone recognized them as American, and they could see that they desperately wanted to be the ones to find their teammates. 

***

“…help.”

The small voice reverberated around the great, open air space that was once the main floor of the warehouse.

“Keep talking, brother. We’re gonna find you.” Replied Jason.

“…hurt. Clay’s hurt.”

“Sonny? Sonny, is that you, buddy? Okay, we hear you. We’re getting closer, I know we are,” reassured the team leader. “Keep up the good work. Talk to us, Bravo 3,” Jason implored.

“…here. Help.”

“Boss! Jason!” Ray called out excitedly. “I found ‘em. I found ‘em!”

“Okay, Ray, good job, but take it easy. We don’t know how serious the injuries are. We’ve got to take this slow and easy, okay?” Trent responded as he headed towards where Ray was standing, followed by the others.

Ray nodded, but began pulling off debris with renewed vigor, that is until he heard the unmistakable groan of one of the men underneath said debris.

“Shit. I’m sorry, Sonny. I’m sorry…” Ray called out contritely.

“Not me. Clay. Hurt.” The gasps between each of Sonny’s spoken words didn’t escape any of those present.

“Yeah, like you’re in fine shape, right?” asked Jason. “Hang in there, Sonny. We’re gonna get you out, but we’re going to take it nice and slow. We don’t want to cause you guys any more discomfort than necessary, right? Let’s get to work.”

***

Slowly, very slowly, Bravo team and the firefighters lifted and pulled and then brushed off all the small wreckage that had covered the duo.

Clay was flat on his back; a heavy metal beam kept him pinned down, causing his labored breathing. Sonny too was at the mercy of the same steel girder, but he’d landed more on his side. Neither man was conscious now, and except for Spenser’s uneven intake of breaths, neither man moved.

It took a while, and a lot of creative effort, but when they’d finally pulled the steel rafter off them, a spontaneous cheer went up from the team of rescuers. As the team of paramedics from the Ukrainian fire department came in to stabilize and get the fallen pair ready for transport, they were unable to mask their surprise at what they saw.

“I think we may have a little problem,” one paramedic said to the other.

“What’s that?” The other asked.

“I can’t get them apart.” The first responded, his expression was one of incredulity as he looked down at the two patients.

“What are you talking about?” the other said, nudging his partner over. Upon seeing the reason for concern, he instructed, “Call it in to the hospital while I get them separated.”

The first paramedic moved to the radio to contact the hospital but kept his eyes on his partner the entire time. He watched and wondered, but he wasn’t surprised when his partner had no better luck than he had.

“Shit.” The second paramedic looked up at the first and shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to just bring them in together. It’s almost like their hands are in spasm and they can’t release each other’s wrist.”

“That’s the most logical explanation, I suppose.” The other replied.

“Sir,” began the second paramedic as his demeanor returned to full professional mode, “We’re going to need your and your team’s assistance. Their hands are in some kind of spasm, so cannot be separated at this time. Since we’re going to need to bring them in together, in the same ambulance, we’ll need your help in picking them up simultaneously onto their stretchers. I don’t want to risk any added stress or injury by lifting one up and not the other.”

“What’s going on?” asked Jason.

“Come take a look, sir,” offered the first paramedic as he jotted down the pair’s vitals for relaying to the hospital.

Jason peered over the paramedic’s shoulder. “So? Just pull ‘em apart.”

“We tried, sir. They won’t budge. I’m afraid I’ll break their fingers if I pull them hard enough to separate them,” explained the first paramedic.

“I’ll be damned. I’ve never seen that before, have you?” Trent asked his team. Everyone shook their head; this was a new one on them as well. “Well, let’s do what we have to do.”

“Hold on, sir. Just want to appraise the hospital of the situation and confirm any instructions.” The first paramedic spoke into the radio, rattling off the necessary information. He then, to the best of his ability, explained the unique problem.

“That’s affirmative… We have never seen anything like this before.” The paramedic responded in the radio. He then turned to his partner with instructions from the hospital. “We need to start IVs on each of them, wrap and run. They want us to put them on the same gurney if we must. They want us to the hospital ASAP.”

After the IVs were inserted, the paramedics placed c-collars on each man and placed both on backboards as a precaution. Then the two paramedics lifted Clay while Jason and Ray lifted Sonny onto the stretchers. Both gurneys were moved simultaneously to the waiting ambulance and with a little manipulating, placed inside the back.

Sonny and Clay’s hands remained clasped tightly around the other’s wrist; their grip never loosening. They maintained that position during the entire trip to the hospital.

***

The medical staff practically tripped over one another as they ran their tests and did their examinations, but no one felt it wise to try and pry the hands apart. Once it was determined that both men were stable and not suffering anything more serious than several broken ribs, badly bruised back and chest, and moderate concussions, the men were moved into a room. The orderlies had to push the patient’s hospital beds together.

They remained like that even as they’d come close to consciousness, which amazingly enough, was at the same time. Sonny’s eyes opened slightly, but quickly closed again as the bright lights caused him to become nauseous. Clay didn’t even try to open his. He did, however, groan rather loudly. 

‘Clay? You okay?’

‘Mmmm. Like an elephant sat on me. Still hard to breathe.

“Well, boys? It’s about time you started to wake up. C’mon Clay. Sonny let’s go. Wake up.” Lisa said, looking at her boys.

“Davis?” Sonny’s voice barely sounded like him.

“Well, there you are. Now let’s see if we can get your partner in crime to join the party,” Davis said cheerfully, and very relieved that at least one of the men became more alert. “Clay Spenser, you can’t sleep forever. Now, let’s wake up.”

“He’s hurting, Lisa. Elephant sat on his chest,” rasped Sonny.

“Oh? And when did he tell you this?” asked Davis, trying to keep the conversation going in an attempt to raise Sonny’s level of consciousness even more.

“Just now.” Sonny replied.

“Sonny, I’ve been in this room for a good ten minutes before you even started coming around. I didn’t hear Clay say a single word.” Lisa looked at Sonny incredulously. 

“He TOLD me, Lisa. I swear he told me. He’s not feeling good, He said he’s having trouble breathing.” Sonny tried to explain.

Lisa was a little concerned now; Sonny was becoming more agitated and the O2 levels were suddenly dipping on Clay’s monitor. “Okay, Sonny. I believe you. I’m going to grab a nurse to see if she can increase Clay’s oxygen and then see if we can get a doctor in here. You relax, okay?”

“Okay.” Was Sonny’s response, looking at his younger brother.

A nurse quickly came in, upped the oxygen flow and promised to have a doctor come in a few minutes.  
‘It’s better to breathe, Sonny. Oxygen’s helping.’

“Good.” Sonny stated.

“What’s good?” asked Lisa as she walked back into the room as the nurse left.

“Clay said the oxygen is helping,” Said Sonny.

“When?” Lisa asked, totally confused.

“Just now. He said it helped.” Sonny replied.

“Sonny, Clay didn’t say anything,” insisted Lisa.

“Yes, he did.” Sonny couldn’t understand what the problem was. “He said he could breathe better, that the oxygen was helping.”

“But Sonny,” Lisa started.

The door opened, and two doctors and a nurse entered the room.

“What’s going on?” one of the doctor’s asked.

“Are they conscious yet?” asked the other.

“Well, there seems to be some debate over that,” answered Lisa.

At the quizzical expression on the doctors’ faces, Lisa pointed toward the patients. Both physicians walked forward and saw that Sonny was the more alert of the two.

“Sir how are you feeling?” asked the second physician, as he began his examination. The first doctor went over to the other side and began to examine Clay.

“Honestly? Like shit.” Came Sonny’s reply.

‘Me, too, brother.’

“Yeah, I know,” Sonny responded.

“Know what?” asked the first physician from across the room.

“Know that Clay feels like shit, too,” answered Sonny wearily. His eyes remained closed.

Both physicians looked to Lisa for confirmation, but all she could do was shrug her shoulders in response.

“When did Clay tell you this? Was it before we came into the room?” the second physician asked.

‘Sonny! Sonny, help me!’

“What’s wrong?” asked Sonny anxiously.

‘I can’t breathe! Damnit, I can’t breathe! No oxygen!’

“He can’t breathe. You cut off his oxygen!” Sonny accused as he became instantly more alert.

The first physician quickly looked at the multitude of wires and tubes and realized that he had indeed put a crimp in the oxygen tubing while carrying out his examination. “Sir? How the hell did you know that?” the physician asked incredulously.

“He told me,” he answered as his eyes closed again, and then added, “Tired.”

“Yeah… I bet you are,” agreed Lisa. “Why don’t you and Clay rest for a little while.”

Sonny had already fallen asleep with his and his brother’s hands still tightly entrenched around each other’s wrists.

***

Both men came to full consciousness at around the same moment. They looked at one another’s faces and then at their hands. Slowly, very slowly as a matter of fact, they released the wrench-like grip that they’d had on one another for almost the last twenty-four hours. They flexed their fingers, as they tried to ease the stiffness out of them, but no explanations had to be made about the odd position they’d found themselves in when they’d woken.

Only an expression of feelings.

“You okay now, Pretty Boy?”

“Yeah.” His voice was hoarse from the smoke of twenty-four hours earlier and the lack of use. “You?”

“Yeah.” Came Sonny’s soft reply.

“Sonny?” Clay asked.

“Yeah, Clay?” Sonny returned.

“Thanks for hanging in there with me.” Clay said.

“Hey, thanks for being there for me, too.” Sonny replied.

“Anytime, Sonny, anytime.” Clay smiled.


End file.
